I was at work once and I asked the generic question, “Are you okay?” His look on his face made me realize that he was not okay. I then said it again, but with intent, “Well, are you okay.” We often ask people just like I did in a generic sense how they are. Sometimes they even give a generic answer. I would ask you today “Are you okay” or “Is it well?”
Sometimes we encounter things in life that overwhelm us. There are some instances that I would like to look at with this in mind.
The first being that of the Shunammite woman who lost her son in 2 Kings. She immediately goes to Elisha. When she arrived she was asked Is it well? And she answered, It is well (2 Kings 4:26 KJV). It was not well, but for whatever reason she would not share this with Gehazi who asked her. In the very next verse we see that when she came to the man of God to the hill, she caught him by the feet: but Gehazi came near to thrust her away. And the man of God said, Let her alone; for her soul is vexed within her: and the LORD hath hid it from me, and hath not told me (2 Kings 4:27 KJV).
Then there is the story of Horatio Gates Spafford. He was a wealthy Christian lawyer and businessman from Chicago in the 1800’s. He and his wife Anna were devout Christians and close friends of evangelist D. L. Moody. He had invested heavily in real estate along Lake Michigan. When The Great Chicago Fire (1871) broke out it destroyed much of Chicago, causing him to lose a great deal of his fortune. Around this same time, Spafford’s 4-year-old son died of scarlet fever. In the aftermath of these trials, Spafford decided to take his wife and four daughters on a trip to Europe, partly for rest and partly to join Moody on a preaching tour in England.
At the last moment, business matters delayed him, so he sent his family ahead on the French ocean liner Ville du Havre. On November 22, 1873, tragedy struck: the ship collided with another vessel in the Atlantic and sank quickly. More than 200 people died, including all four of the Spafford daughters. His wife Anna survived and was rescued unconscious, clinging to a piece of wreckage. When she arrived in Wales, she sent her husband a telegram with just two words: “Saved alone.” Shortly afterward, Spafford sailed to meet his grieving wife. When his ship passed near the spot where the Ville du Havre had gone down, the captain called him to the bridge to tell him. There, looking out over the waves that had taken his daughters, Spafford penned the words that became the hymn:
“When peace like a river, attendeth my way,
when sorrows like sea billows roll;
whatever my lot, Thou hast taught me to say,
It is well, it is well, with my soul.”
Both of these encountered overwhelming grief. The Shunammite woman received healing by her son being healed. Horatio received healing by his heart being healed. Neither miracle is less than the other. Just because the first is visible doesn’t make it more of a miracle. Because healing such a deep wound of loss that resides deep within the heart is a great miracle in itself.
First I would like to say it’s okay to not be okay sometimes. Maybe this was part of the reason that the Shunammite woman would say it is well or it’s okay at first, but then her grief would overtake her as she reached Elisha. As Horatio though we can’t stay unwell. We have to find healing for our hearts from the grief that we bear. We have to reach the point that we can say it is well.
When we talk of grief it’s hard to not acknowledge Job. After all Job suffered he would say the LORD gave, and the LORD hath taken away; blessed be the name of the LORD (Job 1:21 KJV).
When you encounter grief, because you will eventually, don’t run from the one that can heal you. In all of these instances they ran towards God because they understood that he is truly our helper in times of trouble (Psalm 46:1 NET). He is the One that heals the brokenhearted (Psalm 147:3 ISV).
Yes, it’s okay and wise to get counsel if you need it. It’s okay to mourn and feel the pain. We have to heal though. We cannot carry that weight of grief forever. We must bring our grief to God, the only One that can truly heal our situation. Then we can finally say: “When peace like a river, attendeth my way, when sorrows like sea billows roll; whatever my lot, Thou hast taught me to say, It is well, it is well, with my soul.”
Luke 4:18 NHEB “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, recovering of sight to the blind, to deliver those who are crushed,